vdf
Library for working with Valve's VDF text format
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need to work with Valve's VDF format. The package is stable, has no dependencies, and handles the format correctly including edge cases like duplicate keys. The dormant maintenance is not a blocker for a format-parsing library, but verify compatibility with your Python version, and note that kv2 and kv3 formats remain unsupported.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies.
- Maintenance is dormant (last release May 2021, last commit June 2024), but the package is marked stable and has been in production use since 2015.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you must include the license text in distributions.
last release 2021-05-22 (1910 days) · last repo commit 2024-06-30 · 213 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 236,881 downloads/mo, #8,972 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
import vdf
# Parse VDF from string
d = vdf.loads(vdf_text)
# Dump back to VDF format
vdf_text = vdf.dumps(d, pretty=True)
# For binary VDF
b = vdf.binary_loads(vdf_bytes)
vdf_bytes = vdf.binary_dumps(b)- Whether kv2 and kv3 format support has been added since the latest release (May 2021)
- Current compatibility with modern Python versions given the last release predates recent versions
What it is and what it does
VDF is a pure-Python library for reading and writing Valve's KeyValue text format, the configuration and data format used by Steam, Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike. It works like the standard json module—load/loads for parsing, dump/dumps for serialization—and supports both text and binary VDF representations. The library handles the quirk that VDF files can contain duplicate keys, which standard dicts cannot; for such cases it provides VDFDict, a dict-like class that preserves duplicates and insertion order while allowing access by key index.
The package has no runtime dependencies and installs cleanly on py2.7, py3.3+, pypy and pypy3. It is marked production-stable and has been in use since 2015, though maintenance is dormant (no releases since 2021-05-22). It supports only kv1 format; kv2 and kv3 are documented as unsupported.
Use it for
- Parse Steam configuration files or game settings stored in VDF format for analysis or modification
- Handle Dota 2 or Team Fortress 2 data files that use the KeyValue format
- Migrate or convert VDF data to JSON or other formats for integration with other tools
- Work with files containing duplicate keys by using VDFDict instead of standard dict
- Read binary VDF representations including VBKV with CRC checking from game or Steam data
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need to work with Valve's VDF format.
The package is stable, has no dependencies, and handles the format correctly including edge cases like duplicate keys. The dormant maintenance is not a blocker for a format-parsing library, but verify compatibility with your Python version, and note that kv2 and kv3 formats remain unsupported.
Install
vdf on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance is dormant (last release May 2021, last commit June 2024), but the package is marked stable and has been in production use since 2015.
License in practice
MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you must include the license text in distributions.
Quickstart
import vdf
# Parse VDF from string
d = vdf.loads(vdf_text)
# Dump back to VDF format
vdf_text = vdf.dumps(d, pretty=True)
# For binary VDF
b = vdf.binary_loads(vdf_bytes)
vdf_bytes = vdf.binary_dumps(b)Verify before relying
- Whether kv2 and kv3 format support has been added since the latest release (May 2021)
- Current compatibility with modern Python versions given the last release predates recent versions
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Dormant 1,910 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 236,881 / month, #8,972 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseNatural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 2.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.4Programming Language :: Python :: 3.5Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules |
Evidence: vdf-3.4-py2.py3-none-any.whl
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